New Delhi, February 28 Zimbabwe's contrasting performances in India and Sri Lanka during their T20 World Cup campaign have shown that the team needs to learn to adapt quickly to different conditions, said bowling coach Courtney Walsh on Saturday.
Zimbabwe stunned teams like Sri Lanka and Australia in the group stage to qualify for the Super 8. However, their performance dropped significantly after moving from Sri Lanka to India for the next phase of the tournament.
The bowling was more effective on the slow wickets of Sri Lanka, but Zimbabwe conceded more than 500 runs in the Super 8 games against India and West Indies, leading to their elimination from the semi-final race.
The Sikandar Raza-led side will conclude their campaign against South Africa here on Sunday.
"I think the conditions here in India are different from what we experienced in Sri Lanka, with different pitches and all that. It took us some time to adapt. We didn't adapt as quickly as we wanted to," said West Indies legend Walsh.
"I still think the players did their best. Hopefully, we will have learned a lot from these conditions for future reference.
"One of the key takeaways from this group is how quickly you need to adapt to different conditions."
However, Walsh believes that the tournament has been a success for Zimbabwe, who have earned the respect of the cricketing world, and hopefully it will lead to more matches against stronger teams.
Following two heavy defeats in the Super 8, Walsh was asked if the pressure got to the players.
"No, I don't think so. Just from what I saw in the dressing room, I know that wasn't the case. We wanted to go further. I think unfortunately, we came up against a West Indies team that was well-suited to the conditions, which we were not as familiar with. And I think that was also the case in the second game against India," he said.
The bowlers have struggled to land their yorkers in India, and variations have not been as effective on smaller grounds.
"In Sri Lanka, the ball would stop a bit, and it might have turned a little. That didn't happen here. It was easier to bat there, with a flatter track. The ball came onto the bat more, so we needed to be more precise with our execution," said Walsh.
Fast bowlers like Blessing Muzarabani have impressed in the ICC tournament. Walsh is pleased with the progress of a bowling line-up that is eager to learn from him.
"Just today, one of the players asked us when we would start discussing Test cricket and how we would approach it. They are very keen to do well across all formats," said the 63-year-old.
"The better bowling side will win: Walsh on India-West Indies knockout game"
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